James graduated from San Jose State University receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies. During his undergraduate education, James interned at an international leadership travel organization and volunteered at the youth development nonprofit, CommUniverCity San Jose.

His primary interests are in intellectual property and start ups. In the spring of 2020, James wrote his Legal Research and Writing brief on a trademark question recently ruled on at the Supreme Court [United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com BV].